Bridgeton police: Motorist flees, crashes into house

Feb. 4, 2013

Written by

From staff reports

BRIDGETON — Danuell Cosby wanted to get high at a Super Bowl party Sunday night, police said. Instead, he ended up behind bars.

The 35-year-old Bridgeton Villas resident was arrested about 1 p.m. Sunday after he fled from patrol officers and crashed his SUV into the porch of a Cottage Avenue house, police said. One person was injured.

Police said the officers were headed south on Fayette Street near Broad Street when they passed Cosby’s northbound vehicle, which had an invalid inspection sticker. The officers turned around so they could stop the SUV, but that’s when Cosby ran a red light at the Broad Street intersection and turned onto Atlantic Street, police said.

The officers activated their overhead lights but Cosby sped up and fled, police said. They lost sight of the vehicle, but caught up with it when they turned onto Cottage Avenue. That’s where they saw the Trailblazer had crashed into a porch, causing major damage to the vehicle and the home’s foundation.

Cosby got out of the SUV and engaged in a fighting stance when he saw the officers, police said. The officers took him to the ground and, after a brief struggle, subdued him with pepper spray.

Police said they recovered a bag of marijuana on the ground and, while searching Cosby, found he had drug packaging materials and $256.

Officers then realized there was an injured passenger in the Trailblazer. The man complained of pain and was taken to South Jersey Healthcare Regional Medical Center for treatment. No one inside the house was injured.

Cosby admitted the marijuana was his and told officers he purchased it for a Super Bowl party he was going to attend, police said. He also said he planned to stop for the patrol car about a block prior to the crash but, “when he tried, he indicated something in the vehicle broke which kept him from stopping the vehicle,” according to a police report.

Cosby was held on $25,000 bail in Cumberland County Jail. Authorities charged him with eluding police in a motor vehicle, aggravated assault on police, resisting arrest and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He also was cited for traffic offenses, including driving while suspended.

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